Head for marble or granite polishing machines.



PATENTED MAY 17, 1904.

H. J. HIGGINS. HEAD FOR MARBLE 0R GRANITE POLISHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

NiTsn STATES Patented May 17, 1904..

HARRY J. ITIGGINS, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

HEAD FOR MARBLE OR GRANITE POLISHING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 759,886, dated May 17',1904.

Application filed January 9, 1904. Serial No. 188,347- (No model.)

To all 1071 0171, it TIMI/Z] concern:

Be it known that I, HARRYJ. HIGGINS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Heads for Marble orGranite Polishing Machines, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to improvements in heads used on machines forpolishing the surface of granite or marble slabs.

The machines referred to generally consist of a frame fastened to thewall or other suitable support andcomposed of a set of bracketssupporting a vertical shaft and a stationary arm to which is pivoted theextremity of a swinging frame. The other extremity of the latter isprovided with a short vertical spindle which rotates by means of a beltpassing over pulleys on said spindle and on the vertical shaft. Thepolishing-head is secured to the lower end of the spindle and is broughtin contact with the-surface of the piece of marble or granite to bepolished, the polishing being accomplished by the swift rotary motion ofthe disk which previously has been provided with some suitable abrasiveand smoothing agent. The swinging frame has a handle by means of whichthe workmen can raise or lower the revolving disk and conduct it to anydesired point. The marble or granite after having been sawed into slabsand coped up into sizes is rubbed on a rubbingband with water and sand.After this operation, which squares the edges and gives the stone aneven surface, has been performed the slabs are placed under the head,which, as heretofore explained, imparts to the marble a smooth surfaceby being swiftly rotated over the same. i

The objects of my invention are, first, to

produce a head for marble and granite polishing machines by the use ofwhich a slab of marble or granite may be polished to the highest finishin the minimum of time; second, to produce a head for polishingmachinesin which water or any other necessary fluid may be constantly fed to thepoints of friction between the abrasive agents on the head and thesurface of the stone under treatment.

Other advantages of the peculiar construction of my device are set forthin the following description and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the deviceattached to the spindle of a polishingmachine and resting on a block ofstone, the water-reservoir 19 being shown in section; Fig. 2, anunderneath View of the device; Fig. 3, a section taken along the line 33, Fig. 1, looking downward; Fig. 4:, a plan view of one of the pivotedframes used on my device; Fig. 5, an enlarged section taken along theline 5 5, Fig. 2; and Fig. 6, a section taken along the line 6 6, Fig.4.

Similar reference-numerals refer to similar parts throughout the variousviews.

The apparatus will now be described in detail, and it must be understoodthat details of construction, as described in the specification andillustrated in the drawings, may be varied without departing from thespirit of the invention.

My device consists of a disk 5, made of iron or other suitable materialand provided with lugs 5, by means of which it may be secured to thespindle 6 of the polishing-machine.

In variance with the usual mode of attaching the heads to the spindle,which allows the head to tilt in any direction, 1 secure my disk rigidlyto the lower extremity of spindle 6, which to this end is provided withdownwardly-extended lugs 6*. Lugs 5 on the disk are provided withchannels out in their outer faces and adapted to receive thecorrespondingly-located lugs on the spindle, and a bolt 7, insertedthrough corresponding holes in the four lugs and held in place by a nut7, prevents further up or downward movement of the disk on the spindleand aids in firmly securing the one to the other. Disk 5 is pro vided onits under surface with four sets of integral lugs 8, to which theextremities of swinging frames 9, which support the polishing-blocks 10,are pivotedly secured by means of bolts 26. Frames 9 are composed of twoparallel arms 9 and 9, rigidly secured to-. gether by two straps 12 and11, the former one of which is stationary, while .the latter isadjustable and may be moved toward and from the other strap, the twostraps forming the jaws of a clamp by which the polishingblocks aresecured to the pivoted frames. The stationary strap 12 is located at apoint in between the extremities of arms 9, its ends being bent at rightangles to its main body and secured to the arms by means of bolts 12*.Arms 9 are at their free extremities provided with short extensions 9,which, being round and threaded, project through correspondingly-located holes in the adjustable strap 11. Nuts 9, screwed onto theextensions 9 after strap 11 is put into place, will hold the latter inposition against the part of the polishingblock it is desired to clampin between the two straps. The pivoted extremities of arms 9" extendbeyond the pivoting-point and limit the downward movement of the lowerends of the frames by engaging the under side of the disk.

To limit the upward movement of the frames, and thus prevent them fromstriking thedisk if thrown upward by irregularities in the granite ormarble over which the disk rotates, 1 have provided a rubber bumper 25for each frame, said bumpers being secured to the disk in such a mannerthat the arms ofthe frame will engage them when forced upward. Theyielding pressure of cushions 25 will allow the polishing-blocks to moveover the uneven places on the surface of the slab, at the same timeallowing enough friction between the blocks and these places tosmoothand ultimately remove them.

Polishing-blocks 10, which are preferably made of sandstone orcarborundum, aresecured, by means of bolts 14:,to a plate 13, extendingalong its upper surface, whileas an additional safeguard some suitableadhesive substance may be placed between the adjoining surfaces of thestone and the plate.

To operate my device in as economical a manner as possible, it isdesirable that the entire polishing-blocks be utilized up to where theyare joined to the metal plates 13, and it is for this reason essentialthat the bolts which attach the blocks to the plates do not projectbelow the lower surface of the latter. With this end in view I haveprovided the polishing-blocks with upwardly-extending projections 10,preferably of cylindrical form, which extend into corresponding holes 13in plate 13. I

Stud-bolts 14: screwed into the projections extend above the surface ofthe plate, while nutsv 15 screwed onto the bolts and against saidsurface secure the plate to the polishingblocks.

It will be understood that in constructing the above-described partscare should be taken that the height of the projections does not exceedthe thickness of the plate and that the outside diameter of nuts 15 belarger than that of holes 13 in plate 13, through which the cylindricalprojections extend. Plate 13 is provided at its upper surface with anintegral receptacle or box 13, which in practice contains the fluid itis desired to feed between the engaging surfaces of blocks 10 and thestone to be polished. Boxes 13 are covered by means of a detachableplate 16, held in place by a bolt 17 which extends through a hole insaid cover and is screwed into an upwardly-projecting boss 18, whichforms part of the bottom of the receptacle. Said bottom is furthermoreprovided with one or more openings 19, which communicate with a slot 13in plate 13, said slot in its turn communicating with acorrespondingly-shaped opening 10 in the polishing-block which extendsfrom its upper to its lower surface.

To attach the polishing-blocks to the pivoted arms 9, boxes 13, whichfor this purpose are preferably made rectangular, are placed in betweenthe straps 12 and 11, the arms 9 resting on top of plate 13. Theadjustable strap 11 is now moved against the side of the box and firmlysecured by means of nuts 9, which are screwed onto the extensions 9 ofthe arms.

Although not essential it is preferable that the length of the boxesshould be equal to the distance between arms 9", so as to make them fitsnugly in the rectangular space between said arms and straps 11 and 12.

During the operation of the device the receptacles '13 are constantlysupplied with water or whatever fluid it is desired to use from areservoir 19,'secured on top of disk 5 and which communicates with thevarious receptacles on the polishing-blocks by means of small pipes 20,extending from said reservoir downwardly through openings in the diskand through apertures 16 in the covers 16 of the boxes 13, in which theyterminate.

Although reservoir 19 may be of any desired form I prefer to make it inthe shape of an annular trough concentric to the disk and surroundinglugs 5.

Trough 19 is closed on all sides with the exception of a slot 19, whichextends through its upper surface and which allows the introduction of afeed-pipe from any other suitably located reservoir without interferingwith the movement of the device.

The position on the disk of lugs 8, of which there are two for eachswinging frame, is such that when the polishing-blocks are in place insaid frames their inmost ends will point toward a 'common centervertically below the center of the disk, while the upper surfaces ofoppositely-located blocks will extend along a straight line passingthrough said center.

The head in practice rotates in the direction of arrow A, Fig. 1, andthe rigidly-connected head and spindle are constantly lowered tocompensate for the amount worn off the blocks.

7 hen the blocks are completely worn away, new ones may be readilyattached to the plates and the operation continued as before.

Disk 5 when the machine is in operation rotates at a high rate of speed,and the parts of the polishing-blocks located near the outside of thedisk will during each revolution of the latter travel a longer distancethan the points nearer the center of the disk. These conditions create atendency toward the uneven wearing of the contacting surfaces of thepolishing-stones, which, as will be understood, is detrimental to theproduction of the desired high finish on the granite or marble. Toovercome this deficiency I vary the amount of polishing-surface in ratioto the distance the various points of the blocks travel during eachrevolution, by making the polishingblocks wedge-shaped ,their broadestextremity being located near the outside of the disk, while their widthdecreases as they approach the center. Another advantage derived fromtapering the polishing-blocks is that it enables me to extend them closeto each other and to the center of the disk, thus providing morepolishing-surface, while it furthermore allows me to use my device onsmall and narrow slabs of marble or granite, which if the blocks were ofequal width along their entire extent, and consequently farther awayfrom the center, would be apt to result in one or more of the blocksfalling below the surface of the slab.

Although four stones have been shown in the drawings, it will beunderstood that their number may be increased or diminished to suitcircumstances.

The surface of the blocks engaging the upper surface of the stone to bepolished has been shown in the drawings as being perfectly flat.

in practice by raising or lowering the disk while it revolves one of theedges of the pol ishing-blocks may be brought in contact with thesurface of the stone, which if continued for some time will eventuallyresult in the production of a rounding edge, which greatly aids inrapidly polishing or gritting the stone under treatment.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A head formachines of the class named comprising a plate, frames pivoted to theunder side of said plate, polishing-blocks secured to said frames andchanneled lugs located on the upper side of said plate and adapted toreceive and be secured to lugs on a spindle of said machine,substantially as described.

2. A head for machines of the class named comprising a plate, havingmeans for securing it to a spindle of the machine, arms pivoted to thelower surface of said plate, polishing-blocks secured to said arms,fluid-receptacles secured to the arms and suitable means for conductingthe fluid from said receptacle to the under side of said blocks,substantially as described.

3. A head for machines of the class named comprising a plate havingmeans for securing it to a spindle of the machine, arms pivoted to thelower surface of said plate, polishing-blocks secured to said arms,fluid-receptacles mounted on said arms and communicating withsuitably-located apertures in said polishing-blocks, substantially asdescribed.

4:. A head for machines of the class named comprising a plate havingmeans for securing it to a spindle of the machine, frames pivoted to theunder side of said plate, flanged fluid-receptacles secured to saidframes and polishing-blocks secured to the flanges on said receptacles,substantially as described.

5. A head for machines of the class named comprising a plate havingmeans for securing it to a spindle of the machine, frames pivoted to theunder side of said plate, fluid-receptacles secured to said frames andprovided with plates on their under side, polishing-blocks havingprojections extending through holes in said plates, stud-bolts securedin said extensions and provided with nuts which engage the surface ofsaid plates, substantially as de scribed.

6. A head for machines of the class named comprising a disk having meansfor securing it to a spindle of the machine, frames pivoted to the underside of said disk, plates clamped in said frames and polishing-blocksdetachably secured to said plates, substantially as described.

7. A head for machines of the class named comprising a disk having meansfor securing it to a spindle of the machine, frames pivoted to the underside of said disk, plates secured to said frames, polishing-blockshaving projections extending through holes in said plates, stud-boltssecured in said projections and provided with nuts which engage thesurface of said plates, substantially as described.

8. A head for machines of the class named comprising a plate havingmeans for securing it to a spindle of the device, arms pivoted to thelower surface of said plate, polishingblocks secured to said arms,fluid-receptacles mounted on said arms and communicating with slots insaid blocks, a fluid-receptacle mounted on said plate and communicatingwith said first-named receptacles,substantially as described. I

9. A head for machines of the class named comprising a plate havingmeans for securing it to a spindle of the device, arms pivoted to thelower surface of said plate, polishingblocks secured to said arms,fluid-receptacles .mounted on said arms and communicating with slots insaid blocks, covers secured to said receptacles, a fluid-receptaclemounted on said plate, pipes leading from said receptacle into thefirst-named receptacles and means for feeding fluid into thesecond-named receptacle, during the operation of the device,substantially as described.

10. A head for machines of the class named comprising a plate havingmeans for securing it to a spindle of the device, arms pivoted to thelower surface of said plate, polishingblocks secured to said arms,fluid-receptacles mounted on said arms and communicating with slots insaid blocks, an annular fluid-receptacle mounted on said disk and havinga circular slot in one of its sides and pipes leading from saidreceptacle into the first-named receptacles, substantially as described.

11. Ahead for machines of the class named comprising a plate havingmeans for securing it to a spindle of the device, frames pivoted to theunder side of said plate, fluid-receptacles clamped in said frames andprovided With plates on their under sides, apertures in said receptaclescommunicating With slots in said plates, polishing-blocks secured tosaid plates and slots in said blocks communicating With the slots insaid plates, substantially as described.

13. In a head for machines of the class 3 named, the combination With adisk having means for securing it to a spindle of the machine and framespivoted to the under side of said plate, of polishing-blocks, the amountof polishing-surface on Which varies in ratio to the distance itsvarious points travel, secured to said frames, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

HARRY J. HIGGINS.

Witnesses:

K. M. STUMP, G. J. ROLLANDET.

